Meet the Associate Dean

Dr. Felicia McGhee is a Professor and Associate Dean of Curriculum and Student Success in the School of Journalism & Graphic Communication (SJGC) at Florida A&M University. She previously served as the head of the Communication Department at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.  McGhee graduated from the University of Michigan in 1992 with a Bachelor’s degree in Communication, she received her Master’s

Degree in Public Administration from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, and completed her doctoral degree at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.  Her dissertation “Successful Communication in a Social Movement:  A Case Study of the Montgomery Bus Boycott,”examined the communication networks used to mobilize the bus boycott.  Her research interests include framing and Civil Rights issues.   She is currently working on a study examining network news framing of George Floyd.

Dr. McGhee has more than 13 years of broadcasting experience. Upon graduation, she worked as a news anchor at WQBH Radio in Detroit, Michigan.  Less than a year later, she accepted a job as a news reporter at the ABC Affiliate in Montgomery, Alabama.  She worked as a morning news anchor at WTOK, the ABC affiliate in Meridian, Mississippi, and eventually made her way to WTVC, the ABC affiliate in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where she was a reporter/fill-in anchor.  She was the host and moderator of WTCI’s Tennessee Insider, the only local primetime public affairs show in Chattanooga.  She has also hosted special reports, such as “One-on-One with the Candidates,” a 30-minute special featuring the recent senatorial candidates and provided political commentary for “The News Hour with Jim Lehrer” during the presidential primary.

Dr.  McGhee taught in the Communication Department at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for 23 years. She led the department through the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication reaccreditation process, where they were found in compliance on all nine standards. In 2019-2020, she was chosen as a fellow in the Association of Journalism and Mass Communication’s Institute for Diverse Leadership, and currently serves on the executive board of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Dr. McGhee is also very involved in the community, as she has served as a panelist and moderator for numerous events;  “Minorities in the Media,” “Racial Profiling in America,” “Exploring Inclusive Excellence in the Classroom.” She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Kappa Alpha Tau and the Alpha Society.  

Dr. McGhee is a golfer, in high school she was #6 in the county and her picture was in Golf Digest.  She loves to play golf with her parents and son, as they make their own foursome!